The project, announced Tuesday to the social partners, "is at the same time industrial, organizational and social", and aims to maintain the competitiveness of the site, told AFP a spokeswoman for the group.
It would "lead to the reconfiguration of our production lines" of Vittel-Contrexéville, where 721 people currently work, "with a net impact of 171 job cuts by the end of the year," she added.
This reorganization project "is essentially motivated by the decision taken in 2022 to stop the marketing of Vittel in Germany", which has led to "a significant decrease in the volumes produced" in the Vosges, she argued, ensuring that Nestlé Waters "has been looking for several months for solutions to minimize the impact".
Another cause, according to her: "the company is confronted today like the rest of the industry, with climatic conditions (...) which affect the conditions of exploitation" of water from certain boreholes.
At the beginning of May, due to the vagaries of the weather, Nestlé Waters announced the suspension sine die of two of the six boreholes dedicated to the Hépar water on its Vosges site. Added to the halt in sales across the Rhine, this suspension "amplifies a little more the decline in volumes produced on the site," she explained.
"Our priority (...) is above all" to accompany employees "throughout the process" and Nestlé Waters "will make every effort to minimize the social consequences of this project," insisted the spokeswoman.
"We will promote social dialogue to enable us to identify and propose the best possible support solutions" by limiting "as much as possible forced departures" and "by proposing end-of-career development solutions" and "internal mobility", she said.
"We are aware of our major role (...) in the region. We will continue to get involved in the economic and social fabric, in collaboration with local authorities to minimize the impact on the employment area, particularly through a revitalization program," she added, without being able to immediately give details.
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